Succulents on a windowsill?

Blue Onion

I rescued some succulents from my local grocery store on clearance (25p each!).. and have been reading up on their care.  I have a number of other house plants.. but never tried succulents before.  I got a bag of cactus soil, feel confident about the watering and such.. but have two questions:
1. Can they be planted together.. or is it better to plant them separate?
2. Can I keep them on a windowsill in the winter?  I close the curtains at night.. but the window is double glazed, curtains are rather sheer, location is above a furnace air vent.. so it stays frost free in the deepest of our very cold Utah winters.. but not very warm.  My other windowsills are all unsuitable or occupied.  

Buttercupdays

I was reading something about succulents the other day and it said that many desert plants are surprisingly cold hardy, so I think they should be fine.

I have mine in separate pots on a sunny windowsill, so that it is easy to move them around or re-arrange them if I want to, but no reason why you couldn't pot them together if you prefer. If you want to mix in cacti it get's a little trickier, as the succulents need a bit more water, especially over winter, than they do.

gjautos

I keep succulents on a north east facing window sill all year round with out a problem. They are alot more cold tolerant than you would think, in my experience its the wet and wind they really dont like. They survive in the wild in places that often drop into the minus figures overnight.

B3

They will tolerate very warm conditions but I think they're happier away from a radiator or bright sunlight. In the long term each plant will grow quite big so it depends  whether you want an immediate bushy effect of not.

Blue Onion

Thanks everyone.  @B3 Everything I have read says bright light.. like six hours of direct light. So bright indirect is okay?  Our summer light here is harsh, so I was planning on removing them to a less direct place come summer.. but for winter it's not so bad.  

wild edges

It looks like you've got 2 crassula ovata which are the ones at the sides, fella in the back looks like it might be an adromichus of some kind, maybe cristatus or a hybrid, and I'm not sure what the one in the front is. I'd keep the adromichus on its own as they can be a bit more finicky with water and like more light. The crassula are pretty tolerant of house conditions but can get big in the right conditions. I've kept some adromichus in the greenhouse with no heat over the winter and they were fine if the soil was dry. Crassulas like a cool winter and again fairly dry soil. Just give a little water if the leaves start to shrivel. 

Blue Onion

@wild edges. Thanks for the ID!  I haven't gotten that far yet.  Separate pots is probably best then.  I have potted many of my normal house plants up together, but I have a good understanding of their water/humidity/light preferences.  Succulents are a new game.. I feel like a beginner. ☺️

Littlegarden

I find bright light but not in the sun, works for my succulents. Watering only every few weeks, more frequent if it is hot and they look a bit dry.

Blue Onion

How do you know when a succulent needs watered?  Do you wait until they shrivel a bit? Or are a bit more flexible to the touch?  How do you tell?  (Mine are still in tiny pots, as pictured above.. but with new growth).

pitter-patter

I usually water when the soil is completely dry and I judge it by lifting the pot. It works well for me and I never had a problem.

Blue Onion

Thanks!  Everything I read on the internet was a bit vague and unspecific.  I just ordered some slightly larger ceramic pots, so I can do the old ‘finger up the bottom' test until I get the hang of judging the weight.